August 16, 2009

The lead human character is totally unlikeable. There is a scene at the mid point of the movie where it is supposed to be certain he will be killed by a Nigerian crime lord. But you know he won't be, because the bad guy keeps saying "I'm going kill you. Didn't I tell you I would kill you?" over and over when there is nothing to stop him from killing the guy. (and for those of you saying "he was waiting for the witch to finish her incantation": STFU)

Instead of wondering how "our hero" will get out of this predictament, I was saying "kill him already, why don't you KILL HIM!" I was ready for him to go so the movie could get better. Instead he is saved INEXPLICABLY by someone inexplicable. I won't go into it, but I want to. I will go to a spoiler thread for that. I was ready to walk out when the crimelord captured the "main character" but I did hang on a few minutes more to see where this was going to go. I am glad I did, because the action saved it, and at least made it a 'passable' flick for the $5 matinee price I paid.

The movie is saved at the 3/4 point when it turns to Gundam. I am not an "action over story and character development" person. But when I saw this movie failed at the "engaging story/great movie" part, I let it go and embraced the action, which was very good. I liked exactly three characters in this movie, two were aliens and one of them was a talking head in the documentary portion. (That guy was good.)

11 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Yeah, looks like this movie was lost on you.Go back to your Hollywood garbage!

Wikus wasn't supposed to be the stereotypical shiny hero. He's just an ordinary guy who, like all humans. Is out for himself. He's put into incredible situations, he stumbles into heroic acts rather than orchestrates them.He was very naive at the beginning of the movie and he only becomes that little bit more enlightened towards the end.But when it comes down to it, he was just using Christopher and would have left him there if MNU hadn't shot down the ship.

He doesn't kill the crime lord because at that point he still couldn't bring himself to kill.Plus, that character still had his part to play later in the story.

If you didn't find this movie engaging or thought provoking then I really don't know where you're standards are at.I found this to be entirely different and unique to the usual movies with the usual characters playing their usual roles.Plus the aliens were awesome.

Also, what is it with you and JD talking about the prices of things all the time? Cheap bastards.

>>Wikus wasn't supposed to be the stereotypical shiny hero. He's just an ordinary guy who, like all humans. Is out for himself. >>

I understood that Courtney. I don't think the movie needed a shining human hero. I don't think I needed to see anything from the human point of view. I was only interested in the aliens and the ship and their struggles and the weaponry.

Wikus is like too many people i know, even a bit of myself. We know who Wikus is and I don't want to see him in my movie.

"Oh look he's running thru the streets like the hunchback! He's totally cast off from society, like the Prawns. Oh look! Now he has to eat CAT FOOD, just like the Prawn! That serves him right! NOW he sees what it is like to walk in another man's shoes! NOW he will see he is a prick. DO YOU UNDERSTAND AUDIENCE?" Feh.

"But when it comes down to it, he was just using Christopher and would have left him there if MNU hadn't shot down the ship."

I got that, too Courtney.uh duuur. I was totally disinterested in his character and didn't care about his goals or struggles. I could've care less if Jason Statham's clone killed Wikus at the end of the movie.

>>He doesn't kill the crime lord because at that point he still couldn't bring himself to kill.>>

No, you didn't understand what I was writing. I was talking of the last scene with the drug lord, right before the suit was activated. I was rooting for the CRIME LORD TO KILL WIKUS. Then that would force the story into a better direction.

>>If you didn't find this movie engaging or thought provoking then I really don't know where you're standards are at.>>

It's average.

>>Also, what is it with you and JD talking about the prices of things all the time? Cheap bastards.>>

JD was the one complaining about paying 7 dollars to see a magic show, not me.

The aliens were hive minded creatures. It was intended to be a juxtaposition that they have such advanced technology and yet with out a leader they are aimless.Christopher was obviously more intelligent because he was genetically programmed to be a higher ranking member of his species. If not the "queen"....They're hermaphrodites, BTW.

I'm in a bad mood today, I have a cold and it's "werewolf time" right now.And I've had to put up with my family harrassing me over being a Trekkie. Which I am not!

If the main character was black, would that make it better Tim? I'm just fucking with you- but not really. :)

I liked Vikas (or Wikas, or whatever its spelled like) because he didn't turn into a total hero. He was still kinda selfish in the end, even if he tried to save "Christopher." All he wanted was to go home and fuck his white bitch.

I will agree that they didn't really give the aliens enough depth. You didn't care too much for them, and I'm surprised that the aliens left behind weren't just murdered. They left it so wide open, like they pompously thought they were guaranteed a sequel. (Well, they will get a sequel, but still)

You also talk about Vikas not being killed the second time, but it's a fucking movie. f this was a drama, Vikas would have been dead as fuck, but it was mostly an action movie.

>>To be sure, the first 20 or so minutes showed promise. It’s within that first act where I think we could point to some allegorical elements… some symbolism. However, it all very quickly tumbles, becoming a cliche-filled, almost nonsensical, conventional “chase” movie, that even Michael Bay would be proud of, devoid of much of a soul. After awhile, one ultimately just stops caring – about the characters, about the story, about the film.>>